Panel to discuss 'How to Successfully Mediate Coverage and Liability Matters Together'

The State Bar of Michigan’s Insurance and Indemnity Law Section will present the webinar “How to Successfully Mediate Coverage and Liability Matters Together” on Wednesday, July 28, from 4 to 6 p.m. via Zoom. 

The online program will feature a panel of mediators and attorneys providing tips on how to successfully mediate coverage and liability matters together.  The panelists include Ven Johnson, John Eads, Elaine Pohl, Daniel Makarski, and Bill Jack.

Ven Johnson has been representing personal injury victims against insurance companies, big business, and government for over 35 years. After working for Kohl Secrest for nine years primarily as a defense attorney, Johnson joined Fieger, Fieger, and Schwartz in 1995. In 2001, Johnson was named senior partner and worked there for 16 years. In 2011, he opened his own personal injury law firm, Ven Johnson Law, in Detroit’s historic Buhl Building. He expanded his practice to include offices in Grand Rapids and Flint. Recently, Johnson received the “Respected Advocate Award” by the Michigan Association of Justice and the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel. Johnson is a past president of MAJ and was chairperson of the State Bar of Michigan Negligence Law Section. He lectures on numerous litigation issues in Michigan and across the United States, as well as supports young lawyers through speaking engagements, internships, and more. An expert in the field of personal injury law, Johnson is often called upon by news organizations, including Fox 2’s “Let it Rip” to speak on legal matters.

Eads is managing partner of the Detroit office of Gordon & Rees. Eads has defended high-exposure cases for more than 25 years, focusing his practice in medical, accounting and legal malpractice; transportation; product liability and general liability as well as large Michigan no-fault cases. He also handles environmental matters, business and employment disputes, contract actions, E&O liability, and municipal/school liability cases. Eads presents to national and regional associations and organizations on issues pertaining to trial rules, large-case exposure, mediation strategies, trucking, medical malpractice, Michigan no-fault, errors and omissions, and professional liability. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, an invitation-only organization dedicated to elevating the standards of integrity, honor, and courtesy in the legal profession.

Pohl is a partner in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office where she maintains a national practice counseling insurers in complex property and casualty disputes, including litigated and non-litigated matters involving professional liability, construction defects, bodily injuries, environmental contamination, and personal and advertising injury issues.  Pohl serves as a co-leader of Plunkett Cooney’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group, which includes nearly 30 attorneys practicing insurance coverage law. She has been recognized as a Michigan Super Lawyer Rising Star in Insurance Coverage, a Michigan Super Lawyer, and as a “Women in the Law” honoree.  Pohl also previously served as chair of the Insurance and Indemnity Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan.

Makarski has earned a solid reputation over his 48 years in practice, and has been with Secrest Wardle since 1979. Makarski is routinely appointed as an arbitrator, case evaluator, facilitator, and mediator in a wide variety of cases involving personal injuries and medical malpractice, as well as property and business disputes. He has received numerous awards including the Respected Advocate Award from the MAJ, the Civility Award from the Macomb County Bar Association, and was named Best Lawyers® 2020 and 2021 Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Troy. He’s been included in DBusiness Magazine’s list of “Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit” from 2010-2014, 2016, and 2018 through the present and named in Super Lawyers Magazine’s list of Michigan Super Lawyers from 2018 through the present in the area of alternative dispute resolution.

Jack is a shareholder with Smith Haughey and for a number of years defended professional liability matters. In the last 10 to 15 years, he transitioned his practice entirely to alternative dispute resolution. He has received numerous recognitions/awards for his work as a mediator/facilitator.

To register for this free webinar, visit https://connect.michbar.org/insurance/home and click on “events.” 

After registering, attendees will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.